ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[All Lights on Me]

Jesus Christ -- dnb videogame music. Scared me for a second there.

Your lead writing is good, great for VGM. I might actually just take an intro and put on before we get those abrupt dnb breaks with VGM percussion. It worked very well at 1:40 for you :)

I would probably take your lead and harmony down a little bit. They're loud enough that without the dnb breaks it's already hard to hear the bass. I might even take the bass and make a more involved part there. With just the two notes, it almost sounds like we have two songs against one another, one that's gotta go fast, and one that's just chilling in like, pokemon for GBA land.

The transition after say 2:50 or so into the B section of the song was a particular example of this, and the song itself is a very drawn out acquired taste. If I didn't have exposure to old videogame music, dnb, and blastbeat metal, I probably wouldn't be having a great time listening to it.

The naked section at 5 minutes is nice. I'm not sure why the breakbeats come back in if we're going back into an outro again there. It feels like we were going to do something and then forgot, as well as the chord tacked on the end, kinda feels the same.

But A for effort for this one. I know programming this had to be ... fun, haha.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

colorsCrimsonTears responds:

Thanks for taking the time to drop a review,
it's definitely appreciated.

Thanks for the advice.
I like loud music so it's hard for me to tell when it's TOO loud. Oops.
But I am trying to learn to mix everything better.

I too come from a background of listening to old game music. Probably one
of my favorite genres.

I have a consistent style when making tracks, and part of it is
a repeat of the start but without the backing instruments. It's just kind of a thing I do.

Anywho, thanks again for your time.

[Alone Together (A Covid 19 Love Song)]

You had me at sharing TP.

Actually what keeps this from being a hit with me is the range of the vocals. They might even work well with the autotune and other FX if just sung higher, say like a blink-182, not even aggressively, even as flatly mixed as they are.

Beyond the vocals, which I won't touch more than that, I can't really hear the bass much, and the guitar seems to be mostly just 8th notes. Might want to spice that up some with some simple palm muted chords. Nothing fancy. :)

Drums sound your standard e-kit. So, garage band. I would try to get a better kit if you can. The cymbals don't sound too bad, ride is passable, but the hi-hat is frankly ass. I recommend something like Cymbalistic if you can't afford to buy a synth... As for snare there is Saudade snare, Black Noh, Cherry, and several other good free snares. And I'm trying to remember if Dark V2 is the kick I use. Plenty of options

So yeah, the biggest gripe I have, I just can't get behind talk singing in a low register that can't quite decide what pitch it wants to be on a punk song! But the lyrics are great. I really encourage you to revisit this up an octave. Show us your real voice!

And never stop writing. The more you do, the better you get. We live and we learn. Never stop pursuing your passion, especially if it's as funny as this :P

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

codemonkey77 responds:

Thanks for taking the time for the review man, going to keep rocking and go for it again next year!

[Even tho idk]

Interesting intro. This mix is super low and low mid heavy. Treble is really subdued, bassline is super loud compared to the vocals -- at 1:06 this is particularly pronounced, as that lead in the low mid range is louder than even the percussion.

So, in order of loudness, I would set my track up drums, lead vocals slightly louder than bass, just enough to be heard nice and clear, and then auxiliary instruments.

So, you've got a great hook here, but I'm having problems hearing it clearly with those acidy vibes. Bring those drums up, bring those hihats out. Clean up your low end -- take 250 hz and below out of everything that isn't a bass, especially reverbs, and including the vocals -- but I would use a multiband compressor for that.

Lacking clarity on your vocal mixing. I'd like to hear more of your 5k to 10k. You can use a de-esser to eliminate any complications that might bring to the piece. Vocal mixing is definitely something to work on, particularly on that YEAH in the intro. It distorts pretty rough. That could be a recording issue.

But very cool and catchy idea. I like it.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

CHiLEDAWG responds:

i appreciate it man, thanks so much for the clear and honest feedback <3

[Priest River]

This mix is really sibilant, a little more than I'd like. Alternating between that and having a lot of boxy mid. I think the culprit is a ton of reverb. I'd cut down the 250 hz and below of every reverb instance, and every synth that isn't your bass.

Writing wise, piece is great, but a lot of it is being covered up by muddy mixing, and volume levels covering up a lot of finer elements. I'd take the computer volume down to about 20%, see how everything is sounding to you, and mix until I could both clearly hear the bass as well as whatever elements of melody and harmony I wanted. That lead you have in the mid range on your drops to me is about 1 to 2 dB too loud, and that's a pretty big difference! Your tabla samples by comparison are much, much, lower, and I know you wanted those to stick out on a transition.

I would have also cut the low passed synth at 0:38 out, or dropped the volume down much lower for that transition. That's part of that boxy sound.

Basically the way things are mixed, it sounds like you might have already had your mastering FX on before trying to mix in your various elements, so the finer points like tablas you want to show us aren't sticking out. Like the beautiful harmony under 2:31 that I can't hear under the lead!

Anyway, enjoyed the listen. Keep taking your inspiration from the wider world around you, and keep writing. You've done a great job. Keep writing, keep mixing, keep sampling, and your work will keep getting better and better.

Until next time, see you around. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Harmful Love - Nathan Dzul]

Hey, I have some songs made in times like this -- I'll just say I really hope things work out between you, and not just for the good of the relationship -- for you! That's what matters. It feels almost as you're typing, that you're afraid of her seeing anything you might say, and if not her, the rest of the world, and that you are a person who is very sensitive and caring when it comes to how that might make people think.

I can hear the tension in this piece, even without the rain, which I actually would fade out or down somewhat. The way it is in the soundstage, it's distractingly open, compared to where the piece is sitting. You can change this somewhat with panning the instruments farther apart, cutting the low 250 hz of reverbs and delays -- I find that's what actually sticks out the most to me that everything is happening in a different space than the rain.

Writing wise I really like what you've done with different sections, especially when we get the wind chimes. That was very, very nice, even if I didn't necessarily like the lead writing at that point!

At 2:48, I feel like the march elements and synth aren't really going great together for me -- like a forced happiness, but it was introduced very well with that swell.

I feel the greatest point of benefit for you will be lead writing practice and maybe some structure. Sometimes I didn't know where you were going with a melody, or why, or what the structure was doing. You might find some channels like Signals Music Studios, Holistic songwriting, and Ben Levin to be of interest.

In any case, I enjoyed the listen, and I'm glad you have an outlet like music for your feelings. Keep on feeling, and keep on going. The more you write, the better you will get, and even though that won't guarantee your happiness, it will make you fulfilled. Never stop the music, and never stop following your dreams, no matter what. :)

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[CDJeremy - Bassy]

Interesting writing here, and switching between two basses. I find the second really points out where the first is lacking. If you like that sound, I'd mix them to the point they had a similar response.

0:58 I'm having PTSD from sound font piano sounds. I would swap to a synth, say from a free instrument like SQ8L.

Actually, I really feel here that available synths to the arranger is where you're suffering the most. You've got good idea, structure is good, mixing is passable.

The biggest issue with mixing I hear is drums not cutting through the mix. They should be the loudest part of your track, point blank. They've got to cut through everything else, because we're not attentively listening to them... until something sounds off. I will say your transition crashes are at a good level though, and this does not mean to turn drums up. It means the opposite, to turn everything else down until you hear them properly. Then you apply your master FX, everything sounds clean, and presto. Feel me?

I also would clean up any reverbs you had and leads/other synths by chopping off 250 hz or so and below to make room not only for your bass but your kick. You're not listening to a lead to hear those frequencies, although when playing off by itself they don't sound bad. When they're in an ensemble, they're constantly getting in the way of the bass frequencies you do care about.

Anyway, enjoyed the track. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

CDJeremy responds:

Wow, that was the longest review I had in life, you analyzed everything, and I love that...

I probably had all those errors due to lack of practice or pluggins, I will try to improve on it

It was a pleasure to participate here since it is my first time doing it xD

[Righteous Evil]

Not many comments on writing here. Tons of nice things to say about your lead writing and driving rhythm parts. Although I would possibly double the guitar in the right channel on a third about 1:33. It's naked there. You could even just delay it in the other channel.

Playing wise, sometimes the rhythm gets a little laggy or rushy, particularly the intro chorus and the section before 2:25. Good intonation on the notes, just not quite sure where to attack at points. It almost sounds like you wrote the drums after you wrote the guitars.

Speaking of, throw those samples in a lake. No offense intended :) Or mix them differently. They are hiding in the mix somehow, even though I can hear them clearly. I can't hear the kick much at all, the toms sound like I'm listening with a cochlear implant. That and they sound like they might be in a totally dead room.

Actually the rigidity of the drums might be what's making your rhythm guitars sound off, if they aren't somehow humanized, etc. Or possibly the straight 8ths bass. Something there is going on with our fills.

The drums are really the only sound I don't particularly like throughout. They're top heavy. The rest of the backing sounds very boxy -- I might cut some 250 hz and below off of your guitars, speaking of. I'd probably turn the bass up a bit and also the kick drum.

On the transitions between sections it sounds like we've just trimmed off a track, like at 47 seconds into 48. More than one section is like that. 1:12 I'd like to hear ring out -- not like we're limited to live performance here, or can't pretend it's a sustain pedal.

Mixing wise, I just find there's not a lot of low end to prop up even the rhythm. By 3:55 the various parts are crowding out the drums. Drop some individual tracks down a notch. It's not like we're going to not hear them -- and again we have another very sudden drop out of solos. 4:38, those thirds on the sides can come down some and probably be sent to a reverb to give the spacious feel you want.

I feel they come in a bit too late as we completely drop out by 4:52 for -- it sounds like just chopping the volume to zero to get rid of any line noise. Leave just a smidge, maybe, so I can hear the full mute and string noise.

I really find myself wanting the section from 3:52 to just bleed straight into a chorus with those thirds coming in right at about 4:15, or immediately as the next section comes. 4:40 is just so, so short!

Anyway, great track. Really enjoyed the listen. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Cali Crazed - Need A Beat]

This is a good idea, but some things I'm noticing right off the bat -- everything is in the center. Particularly noticeable when you have phasers or chorus/flange on your cymbals. Sometimes I go as far as having hihats panned out different directions for those nice trap hihat sizzles.

Your perc should open up the soundstage just like 1:40's delay synth on the side.

I'm hearing a lot of inspiration coming from the early 00's.

I won't comment on structure too much other than that some of the sections were hard to pick out as "okay, we're hitting the hook now" but instrumentation and samples let me touch on. I'd like to hear you supplementing those claps with a more recognizable 808 snare on different sections rather than just opening up off the flange.

I'm also not sure what section 1:39 is, partly based on that, or is 2:11 our hook? Is it our verse. It sounds more like a verse, so a bridge into a verse. There's just something missing here between these sections that's keeping my brain from processing "Oh, this is the hook."

There's also some kind of quality issue with some of your samples or the way they are mixed, like your beat tag. It's all very low mid heavy and doesn't have a lot of sizzle to it. To stick out against 808 hihats you'll need to fix that. At least bring out the mid.

"We need a beat" has some artefacts that sound like they're distorting. So does your beat tag occasionally when it comes in. This leads me to suspect you might be mixing with FX on the mastering channel and the levels are really high.

I question the choice at 0:49 of putting a bass to that rhythm opposed to a more recognizable 808 rhythm under it, but I recognize that's a build of sorts.

At 01:05 there's a lot of distorting going on in your highs. Sounds like this was mixed very loud and then mastering put on top. There are occasional additional FX you've added, extra hits in the right channel, that are very hard to hear due to the way things are mixed. I would pull every other track down until these were clearly audible, then worry about mastering FX and compression.

I also find myself wanting to hear more of your 808, particularly on 2:52.

All in all, not a bad start. I would work a little more on structure, find some samples you like, and take to YouTube for some mixing and mastering principles. You've got something to say musically, and I'm excited to see what you come up with in the future :)

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Grass Street]

I would shorten your intro somewhat. By 0:27 I'm wanting textural variation -- some drums, some SFX, anything. The tone on this VST isn't bad. It's just not quite enough to sustain a full track. I would also pick some other bass vst to carry those lower notes -- with distortion, you lose a lot of clarity on poly tones, particularly when you chord them.

There's some percussion at 1:40 it sounds like but I absolutely can't hear it from the volume of lead and harmony on top of each other.

Writing is good, implementation and mixing is what's holding this piece back. I would cut a lot of low mids -- 250 hz and below from your lead and reverb. It's taking what should sound crisp and spacy and making it sound flat.

Anyway, enjoyed the composition. Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

[Bottom Kek- DeFuse]

Interesting little intro we have going on here. I would probably cut down on the size of the intro a bit.

There are also a lot of reverb and low mids that are covering up those tinny leads. On your reverb, I would cut the tails down and chop off 250 hz or so of low end. It does a lot to clean up mix -- since a lot of the wow factor we get is the spacious highs of a sound, not, wow, it sounds like someone dropping a cardboard box down a staircase in a warehouse, you know?

Your bass at 0:59 is really mid heavy. Sounds like it has a lot of FX on it. I might even drop it an octave, or just turn it down about 1 to 2 dB. It's overly present imo and makes everything else, including your drums by 4:33 sound very tinny.

Speaking of, those drums should be the loudest element of your track. By 4:54, that lead is WAY louder than it should be in relation to anything else, even louder than your chorus at 5:08, in terms of perceived loudness. That means turn literally everything else down a little, until they are loud enough to poke through that wall of sound, without master FX on, if you have applied compression to the master.

Composition wise, this isn't bad. The melody is catchy. Not a whole lot of variation, per the genre. Your structure and builds are good, I would say. Final chorus finishes out nicely. Nothing sounds particularly bad. I enjoyed it. My main critiques would sit on mixing and mastering, clarity. That's a good thing. Means you have the basics of good songwriting going smoothly, and the rest should be smooth sailing interspersed with hair pulling, getting your workflow down, etc.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!